Message from the SWGIT Chair

Message from the SWGIT Chair

Forensic Science Communications

April 2002 — Volume 4 — Number 2

Standards and Guidelines

Message from the SWGIT Chair

April 1, 2002

Dear Colleague:

The Scientific Working Group on Imaging Technologies (SWGIT) was created to provide leadership to the law enforcement community by developing guidelines for good practices in the use of imaging technologies within the criminal justice system. In this edition of Forensic Science Communications, we present four documents relating to those guidelines for your review and use. Another document, Definitions and Guidelines for the Use of Imaging Technologies in the Criminal Justice System, was published in the July 2001 issue of Forensic Science Communications.

The four documents included in this issue provide guidelines relating to the use of imaging systems in field applications, guidance in the use of digital cameras to obtain latent impressions, and recommendations regarding training and management issues. All four were released in July 2001 as draft documents on the International Association for Identification (IAI) Internet site. Copies of these drafts were also distributed to several hundred laboratories and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and abroad. The documents were revised and finalized based on feedback received prior to December 2001.

These SWGIT documents represent the work of more than thirty photographers, scientists, instructors, and managers from 24 federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, as well as from the academic and research communities. The documents represent the consensus opinion of this membership and should not be construed as the official policy of any one of the represented agencies.

A goal of the SWGIT is to engage the entire law enforcement imaging community in developing these guidelines. Please review the documents carefully and give us your feedback. (Click to go to instructions.)